Community appreciation in Rush City

The North Memorial Medical Center helicopter, Air Care 4, landed at the Rush City Community Appreciation Night, Aug. 8. Based in Princeton, the chopper is available for youth safety camps and community events in the area. Pilot Gary Vanderbilt and his medical crew were on hand to answer questions while local folks checked out the medical equipment inside.

Pam Hagan and Margarette Brooker represented the Rush City Food Shelf and Rush City Cares on Community Appreciation Night. Kowalski’s market provided cupcakes and brownies for a donation to the local food shelf, while folks were encouraged to drop off non-perishable items. Troy Berg, 7, preferred vanilla frosting on his cupcake.

Kids of all ages enjoyed an obstacle course ride with Sergeant Jason Foster on the new Chisago County Polaris Ranger. Grant money provided the funds to purchase this all-terrain vehicle. Deputies use the vehicle primarily for drug investigations, rescues and community events. A long line of kids couldn’t wait for a helmet and their turn to take a ride.

On Aug. 8, Mazie Hahn, 10, and her cousin Ashlyn Peterson, 7, took a minute to pet Duke, the deputy canine of Scott Berg from the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office. Duke and Berg had just finished their K9 demonstration at Rush City Park, where a large audience learned how a dog can be used for tracking and sniffing out drugs. Duke was trained specifically to grab and hold.

The Chisago County S.W.A.T. team was on hand at Rush City Community Appreciation Night, Aug. 8. The squad of four began its demonstration by riding down Dana Avenue on their way to apprehend a “suspect” located in the park.

“Suspect” Dave Schroeder, Jr. was taken down and apprehended by the Chisago County S.W.A.T. team after they engaged a flash-bang device upon entering the suspect’s home. The team worked quickly to disarm the weapon and bring the suspect into custody. Schroeder, Jr. is also part of the Rush City Fire Department, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief after the exercise.

Rush City Mayor Dan Dahlberg stayed busy handing out colorful balloons at Rush City Community Appreciation Night, Aug. 8. He also poured root beer and thanked the local folks that came out to enjoy the annual event. Free baseball caps were handed out to kids on a first-come basis this year, and prizes were awarded to the winning ticket holders.

Nathan Anderson, 11, enjoyed his hotdog and popcorn at Rush City Community Appreciation Night. This year’s event featured fun activities, free food and cool prizes. Anderson said the helicopter from North Memorial was one of his favorite parts of the event.

A nice turnout of folks found plenty of things to see and do at Rush City Community Appreciation Night Aug. 8 at the city park in downtown Rush City. This year’s event featured fun activities, free food and cool prizes.